Agora

In ancient Athens, the agora was where citizens gathered to hear news, discuss and, later, trade. The agora was the heart of the city’s political, cultural and spiritual life. It is this spirit we hope to channel in this section of the website. Here, the Agora is a public forum for discussing events unfolding in Greece and beyond.

In May 2020, we also launched a podcast called The Agora, delivering insight from our own experts and analysis from special guests. If you enjoy intelligent, lively discussion and want the bigger picture, join us for a stroll through the Agora. Our show is hosted on Acast, but you can also listen to us here:


 

Posts on September 2013

Who’s afraid of Angela Merkel?

Angela Merkel triumphed in the German elections. The 41.5 percent gained by the CDU/CSU put her in the same league as her conservative predecessors, Konrad Adenauer and Helmut Kohl. While most of Europe hoped for a different outcome, Germans opted for Mutti (mummy) Angela. Her simple message was: “You know me.” This was the closest a campaign has come to Adenauer’s “No experiments” in the late 50s, and it succeeded.

Contributor: Christos Katsioulis

2 Comment(s)

Categories: Europe (281), Politics (384)

In hindsight it would have been nicer

The Greek bailout was primarily designed to protect the rest of the eurozone from contagion in its banking sector. It's basically as simple as that. International Monetary Fund managing director Christine Lagarde admitted as much in an interview on Monday. “The choice was made to make sure the Europeans built their firewall first before anything very serious was done about the Greek debt,” Lagarde told CNN's Christiane Amanpour.

Contributor: Yiannis Mouzakis

4 Comment(s)

Categories: Europe (281), Economy (326), Greece (493)

Nightmare on Democracy Street

Fascists attacking communists: It could have been a story from war-ravaged Greece’s civil conflict in the late 40s. Instead, it is a tale from the streets of Athens, the capital of a long-standing member of the European Union, in 2013. Hopes had been building recently that Greece would soon wake from its economic nightmare but its political and social one may be just about to begin.

Contributor: Nick Malkoutzis

1 Comment(s)

Categories: Politics (384), Economy (326), Society (140), Greece (493)